ANAHEIM – There are eight games remaining in the regular season for the Savanna baseball team.
Coach Rick Parmenter hopes Friday’s effort was a glimpse of what the rest of the season has in store for the Rebels.
Savanna, behind a complete game from sophomore Michael Kashou and a three-RBI game from Rafael Ureno, defeated Anaheim, 7-2, in an Orange League game to remain in hunt for the league title.
“We’ve had a lot trouble putting games away,” Parmenter said. “Offensively, we really haven’t gotten it going, from top to bottom.
“I’m hoping to parlay today’s offensive performance into something contagious for us.”
Savanna (5-13, 4-3) got started early, scoring three runs in the second inning. Kashou, Ureno and Andrew Martinez all drove in runs.
Later, Kashou scored on Ureno’s squeeze bunt in the fourth to give the Rebels a 4-2 lead over the Colonists (8-11, 5-2).
On the mound, Kashou (2-4), a sophomore, allowed two runs on six hits. He had five strikeouts.
“I saw him battle through with definitely not his best stuff,” Parmenter said. “His biggest thing is he’s young and he’s still learning to pitch … He’s better than he thinks he is.
“And I’m trying to get him to see that if you just pitch with confidence, that you know you’re good and that you’re better than the hitter, things will go a lot better.”
In the sixth, the Rebels put the game away with a three-run inning.
With runners on second and third, Eddie Bautista drilled a double to left-center to knock in two runs. Ureno followed with an RBI single to make it 7-2.
“We had a good solid practice yesterday,” Ureno said. “It carried into the game. We had hot bats and we stayed hot. It was important for us to score the runs early so our pitcher could pitch with a lead and have some confidence.”
With the victory, the Rebels won the three-game season series against the Colonists. The teams split the first two games, including a 4-3 victory by Anaheim in eight innings on Wednesday.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
